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OPP: Calm and collected family room.

When Kylee emailed me and said she needed help with her family room, I said oh yea! You see, me gusta Kylee and her husband, Aaron and I was happy to give them a hand and some ideas. They just bought a new house, which excites me to no end, and they have a lot of great space to work with.

One of the questions I ask my OPP’ers is, if the “after” picture of your newly-decorated room represented a celebrity, who would it be? Kylee’s pick: Jennifer Aniston. Fun, casual and classic all wrapped up in a pretty bow.

Here are a couple of current pics:

I am crazy jealous of that brick fireplace!! And all of that space!

Now, keeping Ms. Aniston in mind, some inspiration photos Kylee provided, as well as Kylee’s style (yes, Kylee, I stalked your old house listing photos) here’s what I came up with:

I’d love to see the walls painted a neutral color, like the popular Benjamin Moore Bleeker Beige. It’s in the same family as the current paint, but with more brown/grey tones versus more yellow

Next, the fireplace. I’ve longed for a red brick fireplace I can paint white and call my own. This fireplace brick-painting tutorial will show you how to get it done. The white fireplace will be the focal point of the room. Later on, I’d even love to see a white mantel added styled with art and accessories

The size of the space is so big, so a large piece of art is almost necessary. The art shown (by Linda Monfort) is much too small at 20″ x 20″ but something similar would look great to add color to the room

The wall opposite the patio wall is calling out for a little extra seating. I love the idea of this upholstered bench (one of my faves!) underneath a picture gallery wall. I also think adding additional furniture and “purpose” to that end of the room will help fill up the space in a way that makes sense

On the same wall as the bench and gallery wall are two windows. I would add a dark, woven roman shade to each window (like these!), topped with bright white pinch pleat drapes hung by a dark (oil-rubbed bronze) curtain rod

Next up, the sofa and chair. These beauties are already purchased by Kylee and Aaron and I. am. so. jealous. They are a perfect scale for the size of the room, in my opinion

Behind the sofa, between the hallway and the shutter doors, I’d put this industrial-ish console table. It’s the style of industrial that looks good in this room – because it’s still sort of traditional, too

I think adding green is a good thing in almost any room is a good thing. The boxwood globe shown is from Restoration Hardware but the greenery already in the room works well, too (honestly I just wanted the idea board to look pretty)

The room currently has a low-pile carpet, so adding a rug doesn’t bother me at all. Oversized rugs are hard to find (I was looking for a BIG one given the size of the room) so I screamed when this little number (almost 10′ x 13’!) popped up on my screen

Last up is this white tufted ottoman. I like that it has soft edges to prevent gouged calves and kids’ heads. I choose white because I needed to ground all the white in the curtain panels and the brick wall

The wooden side table with the graphic texture pattern is this one, and I picked it because I wanted something round to “match” the accordion side table. And also because I love that table and want someone to use it in their home

I didn’t put in any pillows because I couldn’t find any I loved and I was running out of time. I really want this pillow (from an old spring CB2 collection) but can’t find anything comparable. Basically, bright color is the way to go! Colors should play off the oversized art

Welp, that’s it! I definitely could see Jennifer Aniston lounging in this room. Hope you like it, Kylee!

– emily

p/s: The Edison is up and rockin’. Hoping to have pictures for Wednesday’s post!

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7 thoughts on “OPP: Calm and collected family room.”

Emily, thanks so much for the design suggestions. I think you absolutely nailed it! I love what you’ve provided on the idea board — we’re thinking alike on so many levels. I can’t wait to dig into this room and give it the much-needed facelift it deserves. Ms. Aniston would surely fit in with this design. Many thanks!

I normally never read these but Jennifer Annistons style intrigued me as did the grey couches since I have a similar colored sectional. I never knew what way to go with my living room
I have basic pieces but felt like it lacked a theme. Seeing these all together really makes sense in my head and inspires me. I would still love to add in a punchy orange cozy throw. If only I had a brick wall/fire place. Sigh.